The Secret
by iheartmyscarf
Summary: Hermione walks into the boys dormitory and suspects Ron has been making fun of her.  What was he really saying?  RHr and slight HG
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so here's a Ron/Hermione thing that came to me during class one day... I wrote it down and it's been plaguing me for weeks... so I'm just glad I've finally overcome my extreme laziness and typed the damn thing! By the way, who read the new Harry Potter? Super cool, no? So yeah, I'll get on with the story. Oh, and it takes place during the sixth year.

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter I do not own... ah well. 'Tis too bad, and all, but really... J.K. Rowling wrote them so well!

"Give it back Ron, you prat!" Hermione snapped, as Ron snatched her book away. He then ran up the stairs to the boys dormitories, followed by Harry and Neville. Hermione scowled, and hunched over in her chair, very cross.

She had been reading peacefully, when a few of the Gryffindor boys burst in through the portrait hole. They were very rowdy, and when Hermione told them to quiet down, Ron had taken her book. She had to have it back, so after a few minutes, she went upstairs to the boy's dormitories. Opening the door, she said loudly,

"Ron, you give that book back this instant!" Ron looked up, and turned a brilliant shade of crimson.

"I didn't say anything!" He said quickly, sounding extremely embarrassed. Hermione looked around. Harry was doing his best to hide the massive grin on his face, and Neville's eyes were wide with shock.

"What have you been doing?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Hm? Nothing, don't worry, everything's fine," Ron said quickly, rushing Hermione towards the door.

"Ron-" "Night, Hermione!" Ron cut her off, sounding falsely cheery. Hermione walked down the stairs, so absorbed in her thoughts that she forgot completely about the book.

The next morning, Hermione told Ginny about the strange happenings of that night. When she had finished, Ginny frowned thoughtfully.

"I really have no idea what could have happened," she said.

"I expect they were making fun of me," Hermione muttered. "They did take one of my books, Ron was probably making some really witty joke about it." Ginny patted Hermione's arm supportively.

"Don't mind my brother, he can be a real prat sometimes," she said offhandedly. Hermione forced a smile. She knew this very well, but it still bothered her. Why did Ron making fun of her hurt more than someone like Malfoy making fun of her? She abruptly realised the answer, and looked down at her hands, suddenly embarrassed. Ginny mistook this as a sign of sadness, and tried to make her feel better.

"Look, Hermione, I'll ask Harry about it when I see him next. Then I'll tell you what he said. Alright?" Hermione nodded, then excused herself and walked back upstairs into the common room.

It was when she had settled into her chair and found she had nothing to read that she remembered her book was still up in the boy's dormitory. She decided to go get it, and walked up the stairs. She opened the door, not expecting anyone to be there, but someone was. Ron was sitting on his bed, still in his pajamas. He turned as Hermione entered, and gave a small yelp of surprise.

"Hermione? What are you doing up here? This is the bloody boys dormitory, you can't just come barging in here! I could have been naked, or, or..." He stopped, trying to think of a worse situation. Hermione glared at him.

"I'm in here all the time, Ron! you've never said anything before. And besides," she added coolly, "I didn't expect to see anyone up here at noon!" Ron scowled.

"It's the weekend, Hermione. And I'm allowed in here whenever I want! I am a boy, you know." Hermione crossed her arms.

"Of course you're a boy, I don't think Lavender would go around snogging a girl, do you?" she said scathingly. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Hermione, that was a while ago. And besides, I'm not particularly proud myself for doing that."

"Oh, but you're perfectly alright with stealing my possessions and making jokes about me with all your friends, are you?" Ron's brows furrowed.

"What?" It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes.

"My book, Ron. The one you stole from me last night. Do you remember?" She said sarcastically.

"Oh, that? Well, you can have that back. Is that all?" He got the book from his bedside table and handed it to her. Hermione snatched it from him.

"Thank you very much, Ron. But no, that's not all," she said sharply. "You know perfectly well that you were making fun of me last night in the dormitories. I just thought it rather rude, especially since I'm meant to be your friend. But I suppose that doesn't mean much to you, you've never thought about that when you were having a laugh with your mates. So never mind!" She turned her back to Ron, and stomped towards the door.

"Hang on, Hermione. I wasn't making jokes about you last night!" He called after her. Hermione whipped her head around.

"Oh, then what were you talking about that was so private?" She said harshly. Ron looked pained.

"Well, I can't exactly tell you..." he said sheepishly. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "It's a private matter, boy stuff, you know..." Hermione nodded, while staring daggers at Ron.

"Oh yes, well I should just leave you to your _boy stuff_ and go, should I?" And she began to leave again. "Hermione, wait!" Ron's face was twisted into a sort of frown, he seemed to be thinking deeply. "We were talking about, er... that is..." he trailed off, doing a sort of small jig on the spot. Hermione couldn't help but let out a small smile at the sight of him, and decided that he was telling the truth.

"Ron, never mind. It's alright, I believe you, you don't have to tell me anything," she said quietly, though as dignified as possible. Ron looked immensely relieved.

"Thanks, Hermione. Look, just forget about it, it didn't matter anyway." He gave her a small smile, one that made her heart flutter even though she had been quite angry with him moments before.

"Well, I'll see you later then," she said, and left the dormitory. She put the book on her chair in the common room, then went upstairs to the girls dormitories to find her bag. She didn't think about what Ron had been saying after that, until Ginny brought it up at dinner.

"Did you ever find out what my brother was saying?" she said, the smallest hint of a smile on her face. Hermione shook her head.

"I actually don't mind anymore. He told me he wasn't making fun of me, and I just forgot about it." Ginny looked down.

"Oh, okay..."

"Why? Did Harry say something?" Hermione asked, more for the sake of the conversation than actual interest. Ginny shook her head.

"Oh, no, I didn't ask," she said, sounding quite cheerful. Hermione shrugged.

"Well, I'm off to study," she said, and got up from the table. Harry took her place in a few minutes.

"Did you tell her?" He asked.

"No, she said she didn't really care anymore, so I just left it. I actually think it's quite a bit funnier to leave them as they are." Harry grinned.

"Yeah, I s'pose you're right. They'll figure it out eventually." Ginny looked up at Harry.

"Was he really telling you all about how she was the most wonderful girl he'd ever met?" Harry nodded grimly.

"It was a bit embarrassing, really, he was going on and on about it... I think he was just so relieved to get shot of Lavender that he couldn't help himself." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Ugh... well, at least he's making some progress, last year he wouldn't even admit it to himself!" They grinned at each other.

Upstairs, Hermione sat in her chair, reading her book and scratching a purring Crookshanks. Ron walked down the stairs, and sat on the couch nearest Hermione. He said nothing, just stared into the fire. They stayed that way for a while, but when the clock struck eleven, Hermione rose from her seat.

"Good night, Ron," she said sweetly, then she swiftly kissed him on the cheek and walked upstairs. Ron sat in shock, his ears red. Finally, he smiled and stood up to go to bed.

Yay! was that good? Reviews are totally loved, _by the way. _


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, here's the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing, people who did, and thanks to everyone for reading the first chapter! So this one goes back to when they were in the dormitory talking, and then whooshes forward to the next week.

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Harry Potter... or do I? (dun dun dun!)

_"She's been so great lately, don't you think? She's way better than Lavender. What could I have been thinking ? She's just so..." He trailed off, as he looked around the room. Harry was staring at him with a slight air of mortification, and Neville was listening, seemingly confused. Harry spoke._

_"Ron, who are you talking about?" He said slowly, not wanting to know the answer._

_"What? Hermione, of course! Who else would I be talking about?" Harry looked up, as the door swung open. Hermione was standing in the doorway._

That had been a week ago. Hermione had decided that it didn't matter what Ron had been saying, as it probably wasn't about her. Ron was so grateful to Hermione for not making him tell her what had happened that he had been extra nice to her. Harry and Ginny were content to watch from a distance, though Ginny seemed a little more enthusiastic about the whole business than Harry, who was still adjusting to the idea of his two best friends liking each other. Their lives went on as normal, but for Ron acting a little strangely around Hermione, and vice versa. That night in the common room, Hermione was studying in her favorite chair, Ron was engaged in a game of chess with Harry, and Ginny was perched on the arm of Harry's chair, though she didn't look particularly interested in the game. She stood up, and marched over to Hermione.

"So, what's going on with you?" She said, trying to strike up a conversation. Hermione merely shrugged. Ginny sniffed.

"Oh, nothing? Hermione, you really have to give this studying a rest... how could you possibly learn anything when you've read it all before?" Hermione frowned up at Ginny.

"What?" Ginny grinned.

"Exactly. Now, come upstairs, I have something to tell you. You know, girl matters, very private, can't have eavesdropping." And with that, she dragged Hermione up the stairs. Harry looked up, and said,

"Bye then, Gin." Ron did not look up. His brows were knitted together in concentration, and he suddenly grinned in triumph.

"Knight to E-5!" He almost shouted, and then, "Checkmate." Harry swore loudly as his king was pummeled into dust.

Upstairs, Ginny and Hermione were sitting on Ginny's bed, chatting about nothing in particular. Ginny had explained upon their arrival that she really didn't have anything important to discuss with her, she was just trying to make Harry notice her.

"He was so into that bloody chess game that he forgot about me. And so I thought, 'well, I am his girlfriend, why isn't he talking to me?' And so, I did this. And well, it worked, didn't it? Oh, don't look at me like that," She added, as Hermione glanced at her with raised eyebrows. "At least I'm not demanding his attention every second of every day... I just got bored. But, now I can talk to you." A brief silence ensued, then Ginny said,

"So, been speaking to Ron lately?" Hermione looked confused.

"Well, he is one of my best friends, so yes."

"Anything of particular importance?" Ginny urged.

"Where are you going with this?" Hermione asked, now suspicious. Ginny did her best to look innocent, which was very hard when there was an evil grin lurking just underneath the surface.

"Oh, nowhere. I was just wondering if anything interesting had happened lately." Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"No, nothing interesting... have you heard anything to make you think that?" The grin was very apparent by now, and Ginny was doing nothing to keep it in.

"Has he been nice to you lately? Because as we both know, tact isn't his strongest point." Hermione looked thoughtful.

"Do you know, he has been nicer to me... he didn't make any rude remarks when I told him that if he didn't start doing his homework, he would have to retake his sixth year, and actually smiled at me when I handed him his corrected homework, while reprimanding him further." Ginny nodded.

"Just as I thought," She said smugly. Hermione glared at her.

"What? Ginny, why is he being so nice? I don't understand..." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Hermione, you are impossible to talk to sometimes." But her remark fell on deaf ears, as Hermione was now too preoccupied with her thoughts to pay attention to Ginny. This annoyed Ginny, so she said loudly,

"Oh well, I'm going to bed. Good night, then," and she exited the room. Hermione got up from her bed a few minutes after Ginny had left, and went down the stairs into the common room. Harry was nowhere to be seen, but Ron was sitting on the couch, bent over a piece of parchment. Hermione sat next to him, but he was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice. She leaned over to see what he was writing, and as she craned her neck to peer at his parchment, she could smell his shampoo. She cleared her throat. Ron started, and stood up.

"Hermione!" He roared. "Don't do that!" Hermione crossed her arms.

"It's amazing how you didn't notice me. What were you writing?" She tried to pick up the paper, but Ron snatched it away.

"It's nothing... I had homework, but I'm done." Hermione narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Well, as long as you're done, then it's fine." Ron smiled rather nervously.

"I am, so I'll just put it away upstairs. Night, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Ron." Ron looked as if we was going to say something, but then he turned around and went upstairs. Hermione went back up to the girl's dormitories, where she sat thinking until she fell asleep. It had been a very long week...

Ron sat up in his bed, staring at the parchment. It had been a close call downstairs, and he was not going to let something like that happen again. He rolled up the parchment, and tucked it under his mattress. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, and then fell asleep, dreaming of things to come.

What the parchment said:

Hermione,

Recently, I have realized that I really like you. I mean, I've always liked you. Well, not always. Remember in our first year when I thought you were a bossy know-it-all? Well, I still do, but you're not unbearable any more. Matter of fact, I now think it's one of the amazing qualities that you have. Over the years, I know we've had our rows. A lot of rows. But I know (and I hope you do too), that despite all our fighting, we are still best friends. Which gets me back to my really liking you. Which, as I've tried to say earlier, means that I don't just like you, I'm_ in like_ with you. And you'll probably be looking at this and wondering what the _hell _I'm on about, because even though you're brilliant, you probably won't get what I _am_ on about. Basically, I love you. There. You said that I had the emotional range of a teaspoon, and maybe that's true. But I know that I do love you, and even if you don't feel the same way (which you won't, because I know I've blown it at least 5 times), I don't care. So that's why I'm writing this. I know, you probably think it's cowardly of me to write you when I can just talk to you, but I'm working on it. I just needed you to know.

Ron

Sorry it took me like, over a month, but it's here... and this is the last chapter. I hope you like it! And review!!!! Please.


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